Organising a family holiday can be a nightmare enough but what happens when you want to plan a family skiing holiday? Surely everything about skiing is geared up for adults who want to have a good time both on and off the slopes? Yet parents on the continent have been taking their children on skiing holidays for decades and now it seems the Brits are finally catching on. It doesn't matter how old your children are, from babies to teenagers, it's possible to arrange a family friendly holiday that keeps everyone happy and entertained. Just follow our 7 steps to planning a family friendly ski holiday.

1. Don't Buy Your Ski Equipment

Children grow out of clothes so quickly and that's exactly the same with ski equipment; plus packing the car with their ski equipment and yours – or even worse trying to check it all in at the airport – is a huge and costly nuisance. Hire your equipment online through your tour operator before you go to take advantage of discounts and online deals. It's a much cheaper solution than forking out on skiing gear that they only use for 2 weeks a year.

2. Choose a Family Friendly Ski Resort

The children won't want to spend each and every day on the slopes, so a family friendly ski resort provides the perfect solution. There are often children's clubs, pools and plenty of other distractions for them plus other children to play with. You might even get a bit of time to yourselves!

3. Book Skiing Lessons for Children

You might be an ace skier yourself and think that teaching your child to ski would be a great bonding session for you all, but after a couple of days practising basic moves on the nursery slopes you are going to be tearing your hair out. So book lessons online to save money; this way your child gets the benefit of a trained instructor and you get to conquer the tougher slope, plus you can join your child in the afternoons.

4. Family Skiing Accommodation

Try to choose accommodation that is ski in/ski out or which is situated close to the ski-lifts as carrying all your equipment plus your children's equipment in the snow is hard work and will exhaust you before you even get onto the slopes!

5. Packing The Right Ski Clothes

It's worth investing in thermal underwear as well as waterproof gloves and hats. A cold and wet child is going to be pretty miserable so make this one area where you don't scrimp. Luckily because children grow out of things so quickly, you can get some great second hand children's ski wear.

6. Practice on The Dry Ski Slopes

If you are going skiing with your children for the first time then it might be an idea to book a session in at a dry ski slope first, so that the children can get a little bit of practice in and get used to putting on and taking off the equipment. It can be daunting faced with all that unfamiliar equipment in a different country full of snow so a little preparation here can go a long way.

7. Book a Catered Ski Holiday

Self catering can be hard work, especially after a day on the slopes. Catered ski holidays mean you can really unwind and not have to worry about where to eat or food shopping as your meal will be prepared to your tastes with complimentary drinks for you and the children. Tignes is the perfect resort to holiday with children as it has year round snow with plenty of activities on offer and a choice of ski-schools for the kids.